*41kg weight loss(120kg to 79kg)*dramatic boost in energy levels*reversed chronic lung/respiratory disease*lowered cholesterol dramatically. no more angina*cognitive/mental acuity improvement(cleaned out all the clogged arteries in the brain)*no more acne*body odor is gone*regained lost health and appearance

And most importantly, my conscience is clear. I no longer eat my friends

We still have a long way to go yet but every person on this forum and every vegan in the world has an impact. Don't ever forget it.

I got very skinny when I first turned vegan. That was essentially because prior to that point the only fat in my diet was cheese, and for the first year of being vegan I ate the same diet just without the cheese. It wasn't balanced and I didn't plan it particularly well. I wouldn't describe it as a health benefit.

After a year, I had two very bad colds where I was bed-ridden for a couple of days each time. I fully knew that having a bad cold could just have been down to bad luck and may have had nothing to do with diet, but still, I did take the opportunity to re-examine my diet and resolved to make more of a concerted effort with the fatty acids.

I am some 2 stone heavier than that now, and have not really suffered much from colds in a few years - but those two facts could still be just coincidence. I don't think there's any clear evidence to connect them. Sometimes you just get ill because some idiot sneezes the hell over everything.

Generally, during the last 11 years of veganism, a previous 4-5 years of on/off failatarianism, and prior to that a childhood of staunch devotion to the Temple of the Golden Arches, I've gone through periods of eating well and periods of eating badly, of salad binges, chips binges and cake binges. In that time I haven't knowingly been deficient in any nutrients or had any allergies or dramatic weight swings. In my personal experience, the highs and lows of my day-to-day health and well-being seem to have correlated more to sleep, stress and exercise factors than they have to diet.

A friend of mine went vegan for a few months, then vegetarian following a meal I cooked for her and raved about how much weight she and her husband lost. I don't see why or how unless she was literally eating lard sandwiches before.

Most of the vegans I know are slightly overweight. A pie is still a pie whether it's vegan or not.

I don't know, I feel more or less the same health-wise. I exercise more, but I did next to no exercise before... so I dunno. I'm aware that I probably have a lower likelihood of heart disease and certain cancers that are associated with red meat, but that's not exactly apparent day-to-day.

When I went vegan I didn't eat that well, drank too much and was generally not that healthy. My health has improved due to attention to my diet, but that was eating a better vegan diet. That said, I can't see how I could include any animal products in my diet and make it anything but worse.

[quote="gabrielxxx"] great shits

Yeah, I have amazing dumps too. However bad my day is going, three enjoyable highlights always brighten it up.

You can see my training log if you're really bored: [url]www.veganfitness.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16086&start=360[/url]

I have only recently turned vegan (I was a vegetarian from birth), so I haven't noticed any particular improvements yet, but that will certainly follow, as it is a matter of years. Once I get used to it as my life style, I am sure I will be more hardy, fit, less inclined to stress, vegans are also said to ave a much better metabolism and no problems with stomach. By the way, I have noticed a slight weight loss which I am very happy about since I have been trying to lose weight for years but all in vain... so I don't regret going vegan, hope to get some support here, it will be hard to get used, but I'll make it through.

Turned vegetarian just before I turned 17, then after a couple of years I went vegan. That was over 20 years ago. It's hard to see what difference it may have made to my health as I was still growing when I gave up meat. I think that in general I have better health than I would have had if I was still eating meat. A lot of guys my age start getting problems with cholesterol and weight. People tend to think I look younger than I am but I think that has as much to do with the fact that I've never been a smoker than any other reason. I've even been ID checked for buying alcohol twice in the last couple of years (the drinking age here is 18).Being vegan isn't a guarantee for good health as others have pointed out in this thread. Eating too much junk food will have negative effects regardless of whether you are vegan or not. I definitely think that reading this forum has helped me a lot with fine-tuning my diet. I feel physically more capable of endurance fitness (long mtb rides, hiking etc) in my 40s than I have ever been in my life.

Not sure if we are healthier but we it's only 7 months for us being vegan. In any case we didn't turn vegan for health reasons even though better health would of course be a benefit. We hardly ever ate junk food before turning vegan and don't do so now (relying mostly on unprocessed natural foods).

We started juicing (not the steroid kind) and think that actually makes a big difference. Lots of spinach and carrots plus different fruits.

In any case I came across an interview with Jon Hinds whom I didn't know before who credits better health with turning vegan: